Pages

Monday, May 25, 2009

Beautiful's Adoption Paperwork

A few days ago, I finally received Beautiful's adoption paperwork! It came Thursday, I believe, but I have been very busy entertaining our out of town family who came to visit, and have only just now had time to blog.

Now that the weather is nice, blog entries may become few and far between. I'm sure it will be that way with everyone. We've got to take advantage of this good weather when we can.

I've been catching up with all my favorite blogs today, which has been great! It's so good to see what everyone has been doing.

Besides the adoption paperwork--we also had the farrier come out last Tuesday. Not good! It was a horribly windy day--it felt like the barn was going to blow down. The windiest day of the year so far, and guess what--it was my scheduled day for the farrier!

It's so hard to schedule--and they needed it so bad--I figured I'd better tough it out. Plus, they do need to learn that life goes on--even when it's windy.

Well, they were all antsy--but Beautiful did her worst ever. The front feet were great--but those backs--Ay yi yi! Bad! She didn't try to kick, but she did put down ALL, and I mean ALL, of her weight. The farrier couldn't hold her--which knocked him off his balance and put a lot of stress on his back.

She has a stubborn streak in her a mile long and didn't give up the good fight for about fifteen minutes. At which point, you could FINALLY see her eye soften, licked her lips, and relaxed.

Since then she has been as good as gold--almost as if she's trying hard to make amends to me. She is ten times more tuned in to my comings and goings--like Hey, are we still friends since that time I tried to kill your farrier?

And of course, my farrier wasn't too impressed with my progress with Beautiful. I didn't even try to justify it by saying that I'd done this or that or the other--which I have!--because in the end, it doesn't really matter. When things settled down I did offer up some explanation by telling him rather than doing nothing (as he assumed) I'd been doing much more with her in the roundpen and out leading in the fields. All of which does NOT explain how she could have taken so many steps backward. Except the fact that it was a windy day and, for a wild horse especially, wind can mean danger.

So, we both agreed that he should do Beautiful's feet every four weeks when he comes out because 1.) She needs more interaction with him, and 2.) she grows heel fast!

That's about it for now--more later! Hope you're all enjoying your Memorial Day!

10 comments:

Has it been a year already? Wow! Where does the time go? Congrats on the paper work and a congrats in advance for Beautiful's title you'll be getting. :)

I can understand the farrier frustration, but considering it was windy plus her being a young horse I think she's comin' along great! She'll be a pro in no time especially if he's patient and spends a little extra time with her. My farrier is like that where he will talk to the horses and pet on 'em for a minute or two, I think it's helped the babies trust him more.

Tracey--ha ha--tell my husband that about the second Mustang! Unless I find a way to actually make money on horses rather than spend it--which I can assure you--I will NEVER be able to do--there won't be anymore coming in until some go out. And, since I don't get rid of my horses......

But, on the bright side, if anyone does feel inclined to bring one home, I would love to help in the gentling process. I really appreciate what Andrea's doing with Zaz right now! Go, Andrea!

Isn't it exciting to get the paperwork? YEAH! Cali is like Beautiful...I've worked with her now and she WILL stand still for me to pick up her feet, but I just know when the ferrier comes out, she'll be a BRAT again! (sigh...) I'll keep working with her!

Those papers are really great, definitely put them in her "baby book." :) Sorry to hear she was a naughty pony for the farrier...it'll get better with time. Watch that Tracey, she'll have "Gorgeous" (your next Mustang) in a trailer and on it's way in a week, LOL!

Cheryl Ann--How did she do the last time for the farrier? It's a good sign if she's standing well for you! :)

Joanne--I think the wind rattles and shakes thinks loose--there was a tarp blowing around our barn that day. Also, it can signal a weather change--which horses are sensitive to, and in the wild they would need to sometimes change locations for protection. Also, it confuses their hearing. There may be other things I don't know about that others could add to this list. Really, all the horses are jumpy with wind--but wild horses seem to be more sensitive or alert to possible danger.

Pony Girl--I'll be looking for that trailer coming down the road with Gorgeous. (And, btw, that is probably what I'd name her!! :)

How cool that you got her paperwork! Just imagine how excited you'll be to have her title in hand. When I get mine it sure makes me feel like celebrating!

Have you tried roping her feet? Or maybe clicker training would work? It helped fine-tune my horses' hoof work. The Parellis have an interesting way of training to lift hooves that might work... Could it be that the farrier holds her hooves up longer than you do, so just working on duration between farrier visits might help? Do you work with her hooves every day?

I know when I'm trimming the slightest shift of weight can be a real pain, and a horse that fights is not fun at all. I hope you can get this worked out soon.

Yes, I agree that it needs to be worked out by the next time he comes. He recommended roping her feet--which I haven't done this Spring.

But as to your other questions--what I think I do wrong is that I don't take the hoof in between my legs and let my shoulder rest against her rump, like they do. He thinks the pressure from his shoulder against her hip is setting her off a bit.

When I first got her, part of getting her ready for the farrier was roping her feet, but I haven't done it since last summer because she seemed to be doing so well with the trims before the windy day. I have a month before he does her again--so I'm going to have to do all of those things, I think.

Search This Blog

About Me

I'm a horsewoman--a woman who loves horses, talking about them, writing about them, thinking about them, daydreaming about them and being with them. I have eight horses all together, some retired, some young, and some my trail partners. I have a special place in my heart for the American Mustang after having the good fortune to have found and adopted Beautiful Girl. She's a tough, healthy, smart, spirited horse, and I can only hope that a little of that might rub off on me. We live in the GREAT Northwest, surrounded by miles of trails, lakes, rivers, and wildlife.